Life As We Know It
by 1s2a3r4a5h
Summary: They never thought this would be their life, living in their worst nightmare while struggling to survive. A world overrun with the undead. A group of survivors, whose lives will never be the same.
1. Chapter 1

**A/N: Hi guys! I'm finally back and ready to get another story out there. I hope you all are ready for where this story takes us. Hope you all love it!**

**Disclaimer: Stephanie Meyer owns all of this. No infringement intended. **

**Inspired by The Walking Dead.**

* * *

><p>"Have you heard what they're saying about the people in New York?" My sister Leah asked, I shook my head, picking up my niece.<p>

"No, what is it?" I sat back down on the couch, while settling Gracie on my lap.

"The dead are rising or something."

I raised my eyebrows. "What?"

"Some guy went to the hospital because of an illness. I kept trying to figure out what was happening but all I could find was he was dead and came back almost an hour later. Everything was taken off of the Internet two days ago, and I haven't heard anything else since."

I rocked the little girl on my knees, kissing the top of her head.

"So, why is this a big deal?" I asked.

Leah shrugged her shoulders. "I just have a bad feeling."

The front door opened and we both turned to see Sam, Leah's husband walking in. His face lit up when he spotted his two girls.

"Hi, Sam." I said handing him over his precious little daughter. She squealed and clapped her hands in excitement.

"Hey, baby." Sam said, leaning over to peck my sister on the lips.

Leah had met Sam when they were in high school, they dated all throughout but split during their senior year. It wasn't until they had both graduated from college that they found one another again. Leah had been driving in the city when she was hit by another car, the officer who had stopped to help was none other than Sam. He drove her to the hospital to get a couple stitches in her arm from broken glass and never left her side again.

Leah was five years older than I. Helping our father raise me after my mother left us. Charlie, our father, was the chief of police in Seattle while we grew up. He was busy most of the time so Leah took over dinner and helping me with my homework.

After Charlie was shot in the line of duty, he decided to retire. He stepped down and has coached high school baseball ever since.

"How was work today?" I asked Sam as he slipped out of his shoes and let Gracie down to play.

"The same. Busted some people for speeding. The wild life of a cop," he said sarcastically. I laughed and Leah rolled her eyes. "How about you?"

I shrugged, "I only got thrown up on once so I guess you could call it a good day." Both Sam and Leah laughed not realizing that I was being serious.

After I graduated from high school, I got into the nursing program and have worked as a nurse for the past five years.

"Auntie Bella, pway wif me!" Gracie held her arms up and I lifted her into the air. Her contagious giggles filled the room and I couldn't help but give her a little squeeze.

"What do you wanna play-"

The front door banged open and Charlie stood in the front door with a look on his face. A look that I've never seen before.

"Dad?" Leah asked stepping forward. He walked into the room and slammed the door shut, flicking the locks into place behind him.

"Dad?" she asked again, placing a hand on his arm. His eyes flicked to hers before pulling her into a hug.

"What's going on?" I asked, passing Gracie over to Sam, and then walking forward to grab my fathers hands and forcing him down in the chair.

"Sam." my dad said, Sam walked closer beginning to look worried.

"What's happening Charlie?"

My fathers eyes flickered between all of us.

"Leah, you know how you told me about the thing that happened in New York?" my father asked, rubbing his hands on his thighs.

"Yes?"

"Something's happening. I don't know what, but there's something they aren't telling us."

"Dad, what are you talking about?" Leah asked.

"I was heading to the diner to grab some grub because you know I can't cook worth shit. And there was old Mrs. Body on the side of the road, but she was kneeling on the ground hunched over something. I stopped, thinking maybe she was hurt and needed help. I've- I've never seen anything like it..." he trailed off, his face turning an ashen grey.

"What was it, Charlie?" Sam asked, grabbing his phone from his coat pocket.

"She was hunched over a person. Eating them," Leah gasped loudly, Sam dialed a number on his phone, and I stood there in shock. "I think she heard me or something when I got out of my car, because she kind of stood up and turned to look at me, it wasn't her anymore. She looked dead. And when she started walking towards me, I hopped in my car and sped out of there as fast as I could."

My legs were trembling and it took all of my strength to lower myself down into a chair.

We'd seen this type of stuff in movies our whole lives, but I couldn't believe what my father was saying. Was he actually hinting at...zombies?

"We need to lock all the doors, now." Sam said as soon as he got off of the phone.

"Sam, what's happening?" Leah asked, holding her daughter tightly to her chest.

"I called the station, talked to the chief," he stopped and peered out from behind the window curtain, "it's bad. And it's just going to get worse."

"What is?" I finally said, managing to get my voice back.

"Nobody knows what exactly they are. But baby you were right, the other day, I should've looked closer into it when you said they took all the information on that guy down. It's, it's happening here. Its happening everywhere."

We all looked at each other, Sam ran his finger through his hair before looking at us again.

"They want to try and build shelters, to help people, to keep them safe. I just, I just don't know if that is going to work."

He walked over and held his family in his arms.

"But right now, we have to do as much as we can to keep ourselves safe."

My father stood up from his seat, his years as a cop kicking back in.

"We need to close ourselves in. We need weapons and plenty of food."

Sam added , "We don't know how long this is going to last."

And everything went into overdrive. Leah was putting Gracie in her crib so she wouldn't wander off. My father ran out to his truck, pulling it up alongside the front porch so the stairs were blocked off and we would easily be able to get into the doors. Sam did the same with his truck, pulling it alongside the back door. Leah's car was in the garage and I pulled mine in alongside hers. We locked all the windows and doors. Hanging sheets over every window so you couldn't see in. We packed bags of food and clothing in case we needed to leave.

And then Sam started pulling out guns. It made sense that he had a couple because he was a cop but he just kept pulling out more and more. Leah and I knew how to shoot since our father taught us at a young age, yet the thought of having to shoot people, people we know, was turning my stomach.

...

For hours we sat there, just waiting.

Sam would take a couple phone calls from other people, all of the officers getting updated on what was happening. And everything was happening so fast.

We had been watching the news trying to figure out what had happened, what the next move was. And the TV went out. All the channels had been shut down.

But what we had seen before it went out had been a nightmare. The chilling, terrifying nightmare.

There were people, so many people, wandering the streets... Eating one another. The things that were shown weren't human anymore. They were gone.

When Sam came back into the room from his most previous phone call, something was different. He seemed off.

"What did they say?" Leah asked as she stood up and placed a comforting hand on his shoulder.

"All the cops are being called in. We have to try and make a shelter. To help people."

"Is it bad?" My voice was shaking but I tried to push it down and stay strong.

"Thousands of people are already gone. Nobody knew what was happening and went outside to try and figure it out. I guess it's the bite. It changes them. Turns them into one of these things."

My dad grabbed my hand and gave it a little squeeze.

Leah and Sam walked into the other room while I held their precious girl.

Sam was a big guy, he was a strong guy. A big, strong, cop for gods sake. Nothing was going to get past him, much less hurt him.

Sam walked back in and kissed his daughter, he gave his wife one last kiss before hugging me and my father, before walking out the door.

We sat there and we waited, the sun set and then the noises started.

Low moans and groans of the undead.

We huddled together and Leah constantly checked her phone from any notification from her husband. But none came. And that's when the phone lines went down.

My father and sister finally fell asleep, but I couldn't. I sat there and listened to the noises. For hours on end. I listened as they aimlessly wandered around the yard outside. As they bumped into one another. As they moaned. A sickly noise that made me nervous. It was a noise that you'd never be able to get out of your head.

As the sun rose, they stayed there, outside. I'm not positive if they knew we were here in the house, but they acted like it.

Leah rocked Gracie back and forth after her breakfast.

"We have to figure a plan out." My father said as he came out of the bathroom. "I looked out the window. There are so many of them out there. I don't know what they're like but I don't really want to find out."

"But what about Sam?" Leah asked nervously.

"We should head to the station and see what is happening. I think that's our best bet." I agreed with my father but I could tell Leah was nervous.

"We need to get everything in the car. Dad your car is the best option because it's more protective." Plus it was against the side of the house so we could leave easier. "How much gas do you have?"

He shrugged, "About half a tank."

"Okay, you get the gas out of both of our cars and put it in your truck to use later. Leah, load the bags into the back and try to stay quiet so we don't draw attention to ourselves. I'm going to find everything else we could possibly need."

Everybody took action. I scoured the house looking for anything that could be useful. First aid kits, tools, clothing, food. Anything and everything we could possibly need. I packed it all in bags and handed them to Leah who put everything in the car. She refused to look out the car windows. After my dad put the gas in the car we loaded in.

Leah and Gracie were in the back seat with my father driving and myself riding shotgun.

He started the car and that's when I finally looked out the windows.

These things, at least twenty of them. Just standing there, some wandering around the yard.

Looking for something to eat.


	2. Chapter 2

**A/N: Hi guys! Thanks to all of you who are reading this story right now, I'm so happy because of you all :) I hope you like this chapter! Please let me know what you thought of it!**

**Disclaimer: Stephanie Meyer owns all of this. No infringement intended.**

**Inspired by The Walking Dead.**

* * *

><p>Leah let out a startled gasp. I was frozen with fear. My dad stepped on the accelerator.<p>

They could hear the car, they slowly walked towards us, but we were faster.

My father drove out of the yard and onto the street. There were people we knew, countless neighbors and familiar faces standing on the side of the road.

How could something like this happen?

As we pulled up to the town center there was nobody in sight. I looked up to the left at an apartment building and saw curtains shaking.

"Dad, there's people up in the building," I unbuckled my seat belt and grabbed at the door handle. His eyes were aimed on the police station. "We need to help them."

I could tell he was conflicted. He wanted to see what was happening but also wanted to help the people.

"You go to the station, I'll go help them." I offered, once again beginning to pull at the door handle.

"Wait," he said, "take this." He grabbed a gun from his feet and handed it to me. It was a simple glock, one that felt comfortable in my hands.

"Okay."

"Any one of these things you see, shoot and don't hesitate." I nodded my head. "Leah, I want you to stay in the car with Gracie, okay?"

My sister nodded her head and wiped away a lone tear.

"Let's go."

We opened the doors and quietly shut them, hearing the click of the locks behind us. My father headed towards the police station, gun raised high. While I headed towards the apartment building.

The door was cracked open as I walked up, I lifted my gun and took a small step into the building.

"Please, help." A voice whispered to my left. I turned and saw a boy no older than 12 standing there, scared out of his mind. I nodded my head and he scampered up the stairs. I followed behind him, being the quietest I could.

He led me to an apartment on the third floor, pushing the door open and pulling me in.

There were a total of six other people inside the room. All scattered throughout, all scared.

"The first thing I need to know, has any of you turned into one of the things?" I asked, making eye contact with everybody in the room.

"Into the walkers?" The boy asked, I nodded my head and they all shook theirs in response.

"Okay, good. Now, has any of you been bitten by one?"

A man stood up from the floor, walking towards me.

"None of us have. But our neighbors...I watched them get bitten and they're still in the building."

At that exact moment I heard the noises outside the apartment door. The low moans and gentle groans of the undead.

I made sure both locks on the door has been locked, and then the man helped me in pushing a desk in front of the door.

"I need you all to listen to me. We need to find weapons, anything can work. You need to be able to protect yourself. I need you all to pack clothes and food, all the food you have. Now do you have a car?"

The man nodded, "Yes. We have two minivans."

"Where are they?"

"A block or so towards the North."

I thought for a second, "Alright, we'll worry about getting you to your cars after. Right now our first concern is getting the things you need. But I think noise attracts the walkers, so be as quiet as you can."

Everybody hurried into action. A couple of the women found bags and headed into the kitchen while the men scoured the apartment for anything that would work as a weapon.

I grabbed a backpack off the ground and headed into the bathroom. Ripping open cupboards and drawers, I grabbed all the medicine and bandages I could find, tossing them into the backpack. I did the same in the other bathroom before looking in the kitchen. When I couldn't find any other first aid items I zipped the bag and handed it to the boy.

"You need to always remember this bag, okay? If one of you gets injured or sick it may help you the most, I need you to protect it."

He nodded his head and pulled it onto his back.

"I think we've gathered all we can." One of the men said as he walked over to me. I looked around at the bags they had laying on the floor stuffed to the brink.

I walked over to the door and crawled on top of the desk, peering out of the peephole I could only see one of the walkers a few feet from the door.

"We need to kill the one that's right outside." I told them as two of the men moved the desk away from the door.

"How?" One of the women asked, holding her child to her bosom. I looked around at all of their faces. They didn't understand what was happening, they didn't know what the world was turning into. All they knew was that they had seen a creature bite into their neighbor and now that neighbor was standing outside their front door looking for someone to bite into himself.

"We have to kill it."

Everybody looked around nervously, hell I probably looked just as nervous as them. The only time I'd shot guns was when I was in a shooting range, with my father by my side, shooting damn paper. Now I was going to have to shoot a person. Well, someone that used to be a person.

"Have you killed one?" Someone asked me, I shook my head quickly.

"No, but I guess I'm going to at some point, and that point seems to be now."

"Do you know how to shoot?"

I nodded, "Yes, I learned when I was about ten years old, so I'm good with a gun." I turned away from them and faced the door. Raising my gun in front of me and holding it steady.

One of the men seemed to communicate with me, he picked a knife up before walking to the door, unlocking it and slowly beginning to turn the handle. He backed away from the door as it opened inch by inch.

The walker outside the door slowly turned in a circle to face me. Skin was hanging off of its body, and its teeth snapped unconsciously. Then it began to move. Taking slow shuddering steps towards me.

"Oh God." I whispered, trying to work up enough courage to shoot it.

I pulled the trigger. The sound bounced off the walls and the bullet drove right into it's heart. But it kept moving. I shot again, this time it's stomach, and it kept walking towards me.

"Oh my God, oh my God, oh my God." My voice was shaking, my whole damn body was shaking. I was going to die.

The hands clawed at my skin, it was so close I could smell its rotten breath. I kept pulling the trigger, walking backwards with this thing trying to bite at my face. My knees hit the back of a table and I thought this was it, this was the end.

"Help me!" I cried out, willing for anyone to pull this thing off me, to not let it bite into my skin and turn me into one of them.

But I pulled the trigger one last time up into its chin, and then it stilled. Blood splattered all over my face and chest but the thing wasn't moving anymore. I pushed it off me and stood up. My legs shaking and my eyes burning with tears.

"We need to leave." I whispered, already moving towards the door. I ran down the stairs not giving a flying fuck what kind of noise I made. As we got to the second floor, a thought came to my mind.

"Were you the only people still here?" I asked, facing the man that seemed to be in charge of them.

"Most people fled, but I guess some could still be here."

I nodded, "Head out of here, if you see one, don't hesitate to kill it. It seems like you have to hit it in the head. I'll meet you down there in a while, if you want try and reach your cars. Goodluck."

I could tell they didn't want to leave without my protection, but after jerking my head towards the stairs they took off. Each one with a thankful look in my direction.

I walked the hallway slowly, trying each door handle. Most were unlocked, which I didn't even try to open. If it was unlocked, they weren't trying to protect themselves so they were either gone or had turned and I didn't want to run into a family of walkers by myself.

The door on the left end was locked. I knocked quietly. I heard a couple of steps before the locks clicked and the door swung open.

"What is happening?" The woman cried as I walked into their apartment. I looked around before deciding that it was only the two of them.

"You need to stay safe. Find all of your weapons and food. You have to kill these things and the only way how is my aiming at their heads. I don't know what is happening, all I know is that I'm trying to stay safe and everybody else needs to as well. If you have enough food for a while, I suggest staying here. Maybe everything will blow over and get better, and you won't be risking your life leaving this place. But if you don't have very much food and you have a car and think theres another place that would be better, you can go. All I know is that you can't let these things bite you."

I looked between the two as I stopped talking. The man was standing behind the woman, rubbing his hands up and down her arms, trying to comfort her.

She controlled her tears and he stilled.

"We don't have much food, and we don't have a car."

I took in a deep breath. "What are your names?"

"I'm James and this is Jessica." James was a typical American boy with a buzzed head and bright green eyes. Towering over my 5'3 frame, he had to be well over six foot. Jessica was about my size, a couple inches taller, with a pale complexion and dark blue eyes. Her long hair was tied up in a bun, but it was beginning to fall out.

"I'm Bella, you guys need to pack your stuff and you need to hurry. You're coming with us. Pack clothes, all the food you have, first aid, and weapons. I need to get down to my family outside, but we'll wait for you. Please hurry." I turned around and peered out the peephole, happy when I didn't see any of the walkers. I opened the door and slipped out, running as quietly as I could down the hall and down the rest of the stairs.

When I got outside, I couldn't see the people I had helped, so I hoped they had stayed safe and got to their cars. I ran towards my fathers truck, and when Leah saw me she unlocked the doors so I was able to jump in quickly. Thank God my father had a big Jeep that could fit five people comfortably, with plenty of room in the back for bags.

"What happened? I saw a group of people run out of there but I didn't see you."

"I found more people, a couple, their coming with us. Where is dad?" I asked, turning my attention towards the police station.

"I don't know, he hasn't come out yet. I just hope everything is okay in there."

I rolled my eyes at Leah, of course he was fine. It was dad after all.

A couple minutes later, I watched as James and Jessica ran out of the building towards our car. I unlocked the door and Leah scooted to the far side so they could get in easy.

James pushed their three bags into the back before letting Jessica in first and sliding in after, shutting the door and letting me lock it.

I smiled at them, "Welcome back. This is my sister Leah and her daughter Gracie."

"Nice to meet you," Jessica paused, "well not really, because of the circumstances, but thank you so much for letting us join you." I waved her off and turned back towards the police station.

It was starting to worry me that my father hadn't come out yet, not even poke his head out the door and give us a thumbs up or anything.

"I'm going to go find dad." I told Leah and the others. Grabbing my gun off the floor and sliding it into my waistband. I readjusted my hair into a high pony tail, and took a deep breath before unlocking my door and sliding out.

I didn't give any of them a chance to join before I took off running towards the station. The door was unlocked, I gently pulled it open and slipped inside. There was nobody around. That in itself was worrying. Usually there were at least twenty police officers sitting around at their desks. But there were no walkers so that was the good sign.

I slid between the desks as I walked farther into the station.

"Dad?" I whispered every couple of seconds. Praying that he would hear and come find me.

"Dad?" I called again, turning left to head towards where the meeting room is.

"Bella? Is that you?" My dads voice quietly asked from behind me. I whipped around and smiled when I saw him standing there. I headed towards him, hugging him before pulling away and looking around.

"What are you doing in here still?" I asked, nodding towards all the empty desks.

"I searched the whole station for people. I couldn't find anybody. I don't know where they went but this place is dead. So I went to find guns, I thought we should get as many as we could to be safe." I looked at the bag on his shoulder, the bag packed with guns. I rolled my eyes but knew deep down that we would need all of those.

"No sign of Sam or anybody else?" My dad shook his head sadly. I sighed.

"Let's get out of here," he said as we started walking towards the front of the station. Exiting the front door, we jogged towards the car, getting in quickly when we could see the meander of the walkers up ahead.

"What's the plan?" I asked after introducing my father to our newcomers. He scratched his beard and looked outward at the rotters coming our way.

"That's the way we need to go. We should go check the safe area that they were going to make, but the only way to get there is through them." He nodded at the undead who were about a hundred yards away.

All of us simply put our seatbelts on.

My father pressed down hard on the accelerator.

"Here we go."


	3. Chapter 3

**A/N: Hey everybody, hope you like this chapter! **

**Disclaimer: Stephanie Meyer owns all of this. No infringement intended. **

**Inspired by The Walking Dead.**

* * *

><p>Do you remember watching scary movies as a kid? You would hide behind a pillow and barely see the screen. The thought that there were monsters trying to get people was paralyzing.<p>

That's how I felt as we fast approached the group of rotters on the road.

The fear that potentially, we could die. That they could somehow get us out of our car, they could grab us and bite and bite and bite, until we were nothing more than a pile of bones on the side of the road.

My sister sat in the back, praying. Her head bent over her daughter, whispering sweet things to the Lord.

Was there even a Lord anymore?

I watched in slow motion as we came closer and closer to them. As they swallowed our car and the only thing we could do was get through this horde of them.

We bumped along on the road, only then did I realize that it was because we were driving over the bodies of our neighbors, our friends.

And then the screaming started.

The gut wrenching, blood curdling, scream.

"Sam!" My sister sobbed, pushing herself against the window. "No, oh god, no!" Her roars of anguish filled the otherwise silent car.

"Leah, Leah, don't look. Please, look the other way." I pleaded, trying to turn her away from the window.

Tears were running down her face as her body wracked with sobs. Her fingers scraped at the door handle, attempting to get out. But, james pulled her back and away from opening the door.

"He's out there! I need to get him!" She struggled against the weight of James' body, pushing herself forward towards the door, and towards her husband.

"That's not him anymore, Leah." I quietly said, trying to break my sisters gaze.

"No! That's Sam! I need to get him!" She screamed, twisting her entire body to face the back windows as we pulled through the group of rotters.

"I need to go back! I need to get him!"

Her sobs filled the cab of the car.

The feeling that you get during those scary movies. The one where your stomach drops and you think you can't move. The feeling that you're stuck, paralyzed by fear. Paralyzed by death.

That was what this world has turned into.

...

The car was filled with Leah's sobs as we drove. Nobody could comfort her and nobody dared to try anymore. She sat there, rocking back and forth, as tears ran down her face.

"We need to find somewhere to stay. Some sort of shelter." My dad said as he continued to drive down the deserted road.

I nodded my head, "I don't know how safe anything is going to be. We don't know where these rotters are and with the sun setting we can't risk going somewhere unsafe."

"I don't know for sure," James stated, "but, my family lives on a farm out off of the highway. It's pretty secluded so I'm almost positive they're there."

Dad thought for a moment, "Lead the way."

Driving down the highway was eery. Instead of passing another car every couple of second, per usual, there were no other cars in sight. Not a single one.

Wouldn't you think that there would be somebody, anybody else out there?

The moon was casting little light. Almost completely blocked by the clouds.

"It's two turns up on the right." James murmured in the otherwise quiet car. My dad slowed as he approached the first turn.

"How far up?" Dad asked, slowing down even more.

"About two hundred feet up."

We turned into a gravel road and continued to drive.

"How long on this road?" I asked, looking out the window. The road was surrounded on both sides by trees, making it near impossible to see anything out the side of the car.

"15 miles or so."

Dad whistled. James was right when he said it was way out here.

We drove silently down the road. The soft baby whispers of Gracie, as she soundly slept in Jessica's arms.

There was a light wind and I could see the trees swaying in it, outside of the window. I turned away and twisted in my seat to look at my sister. She was curled into a ball, tears rolling down her cheeks.

My father slowed the car as we got closer and closer to the house. The trees suddenly opened up and there was a large house in front of us. The darkness made it impossible to see anything past the house, but I could tell there weren't trees there anymore. A wide patch of land most likely.

All of the lights inside the house were shut off, if James' family wasn't here, or if they weren't human anymore, we were screwed. We didn't have anymore options at this point. The dark made it impossible to see if there were these things coming towards us.

My father shut the headlights off as we pulled closer to the house, letting the little amount of moonlight guide us in the driveway.

I rolled my window down, hoping if there were any of these things out here, we would be able to hear them. Thankfully, everything was silent.

"You all stay in the car, I'll go up to the door and see if they're here." James said, reaching for his door handle.

"Hold on," my dad said, reaching towards the floor and sitting back up with a gun in his hand, "take this. Protect yourself."

"Aim for the head if there are any of the rotters." I told him, flashing him a quick smile.

He took the gun from my father and nodded his head at me. After gently kissing Jessica, James got out of the car and quietly shut the door behind him.

We watched as he walked up the front porch steps and slowly headed towards the front door. Our eyes were glued to his every move. As he rapped three times on the door, we listened for sounds of the dead. As he waited, we bit our lips. And then the door opened.

He waved to us, motioning for us to get a move on it, to hurry inside. I grabbed one bag, closest to myself, before slipping out my door and shutting it behind me. I slung it on my back before opening the rear door and reaching for my sisters hand.

When she didn't move, didn't even acknowledge my hand waiting for her, I reached in and grabbed her shoulders, pulling her out of the car. Her legs were unsteady and weak as I helped her walk to the porch. Jessica followed behind us with Gracie in her arms. My dad waited by the car, looking left to right, until we were safely on the front porch.

Stepping into the house, there was hustling and bustling all around. I'm assuming the woman was James' mother, proper introductions were not made. She grabbed Leah from my hold and helped her walk into another room. A comforting hand running her back. An older man, most likely James' father, shook hands with my father, before pointing towards the living room and nodding for us to go in.

After the front door was properly locked and a desk had been pushed up against it. We all settled into the living room to talk.

"I'm Jack, I'd like to say that it's nice to meet you but after what I've heard is happening, I don't think I'm able to." James' father cracked a smile and held his hand out to my father.

"I'm Charlie, these are my daughters, Bella and Leah, and my granddaughter Gracie." I smiled and sat down on the couch.

"I believe my wife, Susan, is with your other daughter. Which one would that be?" Jack asked, looking at me before looking towards the door where Leah and Susan had disappeared through.

"I'm Bella, my sister Leah is in the other room." I said nodding towards the door.

"Where are Ashley and Nick?" James asked, wrapping his arm around Jessica's shoulders. They were next to me on the couch. Gracie was still in Jessica's arms. My father sat down in a chair to my left and dropped the bag of guns he brought in, on the ground next to him.

"Sleeping. Everybody has been up worrying. I finally sent everybody else to bed a few hours ago. I've been up making sure everything stays good. Your mother woke up only a little bit ago."

"How many people are here?" My father asked.

"Other than my wife and I, our daughter Ashley, her husband Nick, and their two sons, Luke and Liam. And my other son Lucas."

"Lucas is here?" James asked, "I thought he was still in New York."

Jack shook his head, "He got back a day and a half ago. He heard about some hospital thing, got worried, started freaking out, like you know he does, and decided to come home."

"When did Ashley and Nick get here?"

"They came here right away, when everything went down." James nodded and leaned his head back into the couch.

"We need to make a plan." My dad said, "I'm not trying to jump into your family, but we need to stay together. We will survive better together in numbers."

Jack nodded, "I agree. Our family has decided to try and stay here as long as we can. Our house is pretty far out of the way, and we have fence surrounding the better part of our land. It should be safe here. We would love to have you. And we have more than enough rooms."

"We have weapons and we brought all the food we had." My dad told him, nodding towards the bag of gun at his feet.

"How did you get so many guns?"

"We went to the police station." I told him. At his confused look I added in, "My sisters husband, he is, or was a cop. He got called in to help and when we needed to leave we went to look for him, there was nobody in the station, so we took weapons."

Jack, James and my father continued to talk as we all sat there. Jessica nodded at me as she stood up, motioning me to follow. I stood up after her and followed her as she walked into another room. Gracie was still sound asleep in her arms.

We entered the kitchen, where Jessica sat down at the kitchen table. I followed suit, sitting across from her and leaning back in the chair.

"I always wanted kids." She murmured as she rocked Gracie in her arms. "James and I wanted to wait, wanted to have a life together first before another person was constantly depending on us. But now, I guess we won't ever have the chance. Because what kind of person would bring a baby into the world, when its falling to pieces?"

I shook my head before leaning forward onto the table. "Who knows what will happen. We don't know if this will pass in ten days, or ten months, or ten years. We don't know if we will fix whatever is happening or if this is what the rest of life on earth will be. You can't say you won't ever bring someone into the world because you don't know what this world will be."

She nodded her head and rocked Gracie.

"I'm just scared." She said.

I sighed, "We all are."

...

"How did you find out what was going on?" My father asked Jack, when I moved back into the living room. Jessica had gone to try and sleep, taking Gracie with her.

"When my son came back talking about this New York hospital thing, I tried to check it out, but there was nothing about it. We stayed camped out here, watching the news channels. That's when everything happened. It showed these things on the streets, wandering, killing, it was awful. Then the phones went out. Ashley showed up and we've been waiting for James and Jessica to show up. Thank god that you all did."

We sat there thinking about how we all found out. How we watched the TV, seeing people turn into creatures that we weren't able to fathom.

We watched as our world fell apart.

And that's the scariest movie you could ever live through.

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><p><strong>What did you all think? Let me know! XOXO<strong>


	4. Chapter 4

**A/N: Hi everybody! Sorry that it has taken so long for me to get this chapter out! I've been swamped with school, but now that I'm on break hopefully I can get more chapters written and out for you all! Let me know what you think of this chapter!**

**Disclaimer: Stephanie Meyer owns all of this. No infringement intended. **

**Inspired by The Walking Dead.**

* * *

><p>As the sun rose, everybody rose with it. Proper introductions were made as everybody climbed out of bed and came downstairs for breakfast.<p>

Jack simply scrambled some eggs and made some toast for everybody. He was still able to put a smile on his face for his family. A smile that made his eyes crinkle and his grey mustache twitch. He was a tall guy, around six foot, with graying hair, and a friendly smile. Susan who I had met late last night, after she got Leah to calm down and sleep, was a friendly woman, who would hug you at any chance she got.

Ashley was tall and dark haired, a little stand offish, yet I understood because of the place we had been put in. Her husband was a quiet, geeky guy, with long black hair and wire framed glasses. Both of their sons were adorable, I guessed around nine years old.

Lucas was odd. He twitched a lot and couldn't make eye contact. Yet, he still somehow fit into this family perfectly.

After we finished eating Jack offered to show us around the land. Something which my father jumped at.

We all grabbed guns before stepping out the back door. The land went on forever. There was a barn behind the house with a couple pigs and chickens. All of the land was surrounded by a fence that went right up along the treeline.

After a simple tour I went inside to talk with Susan. She led me out to the garage where she started digging into boxes.

"I love gardens, but I haven't been able to have one for the past two years or so. I've just been too busy." She told me. "But I have a lot of seeds for both flowers and vegetables."

She shot me a smile and I couldn't help but smile back. She was such a friendly person, the type that you can't help but like.

"So, what are you proposing?" I asked, peering into one of the many boxes she had full of seeds.

"Well, I think we should start a garden."

...

That's how I got roped into helping plant a garden, something that I never pictured myself doing.

We dug up a patch of the grass and somehow turned it into a beautiful little square garden. Even though it was small it took us all day long to plant it.

And as we were heading inside that's when I heard the noise.

The clacking of the teeth and the shuffling of the feet.

Susan must not have heard as she continued to prattle on and on about her life.

I stood frozen, waiting to hear that noise again.

And that's when I did. Low moaning of the undead.

"Susan, run!" I whisper shouted as I shoved at her back. She tripped before catching her footing and running towards the house. I followed behind her looking over my shoulder every couple of seconds.

Then they appeared. Breaking through the trees at the front of the house. They must have heard us talking while we worked on the garden, and must have walked along the fence until they came to the opening.

Susan pulled the back door open and I slammed it shut as we both tumbled inside.

"What's wrong?" My dad asked, jumping up from his chair.

I panted, trying to catch my breath, "There are rotters, coming in through the break in the fence."

James walked over to the front window and pulled the curtain to the side.

"There are at least four. Could be more." He told us, turning back around.

My dad took a few steps forward, reaching for his bag of guns.

I grabbed one that he was passing to James.

"I'm the only one who's killed one of these things. We need to shoot them in the heads. That's the only way." I slid the gun into the waistband of my pants and walked towards the window.

They were heading for the house, getting close now.

I nodded to the others before pulling open the front door and stepping out onto the porch.

I lifted the gun, aimed and fired. But the shot went off to the side of the rotter I was aiming at.

Obviously I had been out of practice at shooting.

I took a couple steps forward, standing on one of the stairs, and shot again. It punctured a hole in one of their stomachs.

Their teeth clamped together before opening and groaning. They could smell us, they knew we were there.

My dad was next to me, aiming before shooting. It was a nice clean shot through one of their heads. It dropped to the ground.

I aimed, shot, and missed again. I took another step forward and missed.

"Bella!" My dad screamed before I felt it. The rotting hand grabbing at me from behind. I whipped around and there it was. The skin falling off of its face, rotting stench filling my nostrils.

"Get off of me!" I yelled, pushing at it. It's teeth snapped in my face and I raised my gun to shoot. I hit the shoulder and tried to push it away again. The shove made my gun slip, and it dropped to the ground.

The hand was stuck in my hair. I screamed, knowing this was the end. I heard other gun shots ring out, and could only pray that the other rotters were now laying on the ground.

Everything happened in an instant. One moment I was screaming, trying to push this thing off of me without getting bit, and the next it was dead weight.

As it tumbled forward onto me, I shoved it forward and felt it's hand rip through my hair.

"Bella, oh god." I felt warm arms wrap around me and held back my tears. I was so close to death.

"I'm okay, I'm okay." I chanted as I turned to look around.

Four dead bodies lay on the grass, my gun next to my feet.

Everybody stood on the porch staring at us. I raised my arms in the air and tried to smile.

"It's all good, I guess we just have to wear our hair up from now on." I grabbed my gun before walking towards the house and into the front door. Attempting to shake off the nerves that were still fluttering around my stomach.

...

"You okay?" Jessica asked as she entered the room. I was sitting on a bed just thinking. I should have been more careful.

"Yeah, I'm fine."

She sat down next to me and grabbed my hand. "What you did was really brave. Even though it didn't end like it should have, you were able to run out there to protect us. That's brave."

"Thanks." I told her with a small smile.

"I really appreciate what you did back at the apartments." I gave her a look, not understanding what she meant. "You let us go with you. You didn't leave us behind."

I squeezed her hand. "Of course."

"You know-"

She was cut off by a gunshot.

We both jumped up and ran out of the room. Nobody was in the living room or the kitchen. I grabbed a gun that was sitting on the kitchen counter. Jessica followed suit.

I shoved open the front door and was completely taken off guard.

There were rotters all over the yard. Swarming in through the open section of the gate. There were at least 25 in the yard and more were coming in.

"Holy shit." Jessica said as she came out behind me.

"Just aim and shoot." I told her as I stepped down off the porch.

Aim, shoot. Aim, shoot. My father was close to me and I watched as he took down three of the rotters, one right after the another.

A car screeched in through the fence and hit rotters as it came in. A door burst open and people tumbled out.

"Stop shooting!" Someone screamed, as they ran through the masses of the rotters. I stopped long enough to turn and see what was happening.

There were three new people that I could see. All with weapons in their hands, but no guns. They smashed down on the heads of the rotters and they dropped to the ground.

"Stop shooting!" One of the men shouted again.

As another rotter made its way towards me, I imitated what they had been doing and smashed the butt of my gun down on its head. The head of the rotter cracked open and it dropped to the ground, brains spilling out.

My arms burned as I continued to smash the gun into their heads. I had brain matter covering my hands, making my grip on the gun slip. I tried not to gag, but I couldn't help it as their insides spilled to the ground and all over me.

As the rotter in front of me dropped to the ground, I turned and looked around.

"Leah, no!" My dad shouted, I whipped around to see my sister walk into the middle of four rotters.

"I have to be with Sam." She said, barely loud enough for us to hear. And then I screamed. A bloodcurdling scream, ripped through my throat, because my sister was being bit to pieces by the undead.

"Stop." A low voice grumbled as a heavy hand clamped over my mouth. I was pulled into a hard chest and basically dragged towards the house.

I watched as my dad and a stranger ran over in the direction of my sister. The rotters around her dropped to the ground as my father slammed his gun into their heads. My sister lay on the ground twitching, before I was pulled out of sight.

"No! No, I need to be with my sister!" I yelled at the stranger who had a hold of me.

"Calm down." He told me as he helped me onto the sofa in the living room. "She's gone, there's nothing you can do. I'm sorry, but she's gone."

Tears rushed out of my eyes and I was wracked with sobs.

"I'm sorry."

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><p><strong>How did you like it? What were your thoughts? If you all respond and review letting me know your thoughts maybe I'll post another chapter before Christmas, a little present to us all :) <strong>

**Please review!**


	5. Chapter 5

**A/N: Hi everybody! I hope you had a wonderful holiday season, and I hope you all ring in the New Year with someone special. Hope you like the chapter!**

**Disclaimer: Stephanie Meyer owns everything. No infringement intended. **

**Inspired by The Walking Dead.**

* * *

><p><em>To my darling sister,<em>

_I'm so sorry that I've done this to you. I'm sorry that I've left you._

Tears ran down my cheeks as I clutched at the paper in my fist. One of my hands covered my mouth, I didn't want anybody to hear the sobs that were wracking my body.

_You don't know how much I've always loved you. How much I've always cherished our relationship. You have been there for me every single day of my life. And for that I can never repay you._

My niece gurgled from her spot on the bed next to me. Not a clue as to what has happened in the past 24 hours.

_I've always been jealous of you. You were the smarter one, the prettier one, the skinnier one. But that hasn't made me ever feel bad, no matter what you were always there for me. Even though you were younger than me, you still comforted me whenever I needed it. You were there when my first boyfriend broke up with me, when my second boyfriend broke up with me, and so on. And then I met Sam._

At the mention of my brother-in-laws name, more tears sprung from my eyes. Both of my siblings were gone.

_I never told you this, I actually don't know why I didn't. But let me tell you about our first date. I'm smiling through my pain as I'm writing this. Thinking about him, thinking about us, still continues to make me happy. But that can't override the pain I'm in._

_Anyways, on our first date, Sam had been so nervous. I'm pretty sure he was actually shaking when he picked me up. His hands were clammy, and I remember teasing him about it. He wanted to take me out to dinner and then a movie. So we get to the restaurant and we sat down, no problem there. But we must have had a newer waitress, because she seemed even more nervous than Sam was. First, she brought the wrong drinks, then when we asked if we could get the other drinks, she went to pick our glasses up, and completely knocked mine over and into my lap. She was so sorry and I waved it off and went to try and dry off._

I smiled through my tears as I imagined my sister getting a drink poured on her. And being able to remain calm. When I had done that to her, and I was around the age of eight, she had flipped out and yelled for who knows how long.

_When I got back Sam was still just as nervous as he had been at the beginning of the date. Going on, we put our order in with the waitress. When our food came out, mine was the wrong sandwich, and Sam's had onions on it, which he is allergic too. So we had to say something to her, to which she was upset about and didn't know what to do. So the manager told us we didn't have to pay, you know how that goes. So instead of ordering something else, Sam offered to just buy a bunch of snacks at the movie._

Ever since we were little, we had to have a multitude of snacks while watching a movie. Just popcorn would not do. We had to have an array, something sour, something sweet, and something salty.

_We went all out at the movie and I was so excited to dig in, I think he was too because I could hear his stomach growling. We find seats, sit down, get ready to eat, and thats when I realize that there are lady bugs in the popcorn. I freaked out of course, Sam threw it away, and we were already late to the movie so we didn't want to complain. So we dug into the candy. You know how the boxes are usually half full, which is such a rip off, but ours was less than a third full. Then another package of candy spilled all over the floor. And the chocolate was moldy. That's when the movie started. Ten minutes in and the projector broke._

_Anything and everything that could go wrong, went wrong. Sam felt so bad, he kept apologizing, and I was pretty annoyed, to be honest. He was driving me home and we past this overlook, the sun was still setting and I begged him to stop. So he stops and I jump out. We walked over to this overlook, and as we looked out at this bright orange sky, he kissed me. And I knew right then, that this was the guy I was going to marry. All the bad faded away and I hadn't been happier in a long time._

Her letter was winding down, and that made me cry harder. I couldn't believe that the last thing I had from my sister, was almost over. The tears were streaming down my face and my hands were shaking. My whole body was for that matter.

_When Sam had to leave earlier, I had a rock in the pit of my stomach, I didn't want him to go. But, you know Sam, he always wants to help, with anything. So he left. And that was the last time I saw my husband, the love of my life, alive. As we were driving, and headed towards the group of those things, I was so scared. I was terrified. I knew in the bottom of my heart that whatever we found wasn't going to be good. That everything was going to be awful. Things had happened so fast already, and I knew that they would just get worse._

_Seeing Sam like that. I died. I was gone. I died with him. It ripped me apart. And I knew that I couldn't live without him. I wasn't going to be like you, I wasn't going to be able to be strong, to fight, to try and survive._

_So when we got here, I knew what I had to do. I just didn't know how. How do you kill yourself? Back when things were normal you did it the way regular people committed suicide. But I didn't know what would happen if I did, would I come back as one of those things?_

My sister had stood by my side, my entire life. She was there the day I started high school, the day I graduated high school, she was there for everything. When I started college, when I graduated. My first day as a nurse. Every little step in my life, my sister was by my side for. What about all the other steps. Who would be there now?

The day she came to me and told me she was pregnant, was one of the happiest days of her life. She was beaming, she had tears of happiness running down her face. She kept rubbing her stomach. She was already a mother. She had been since the day I was born. She helped raise me, and for that I could never thank her enough.

_Suicide. It's such a weird word. It has such a negative connotation, but saying it, the way it rolls off your lips. For some reason, it sounds beautiful. The most surreal way to die. All on your own terms. Not on somebody else terms, not waiting for the time or place for it to happen. But by your choice, your decision. Death is perceived as a bad thing in the world. But to me its astonishing. The fact that somebody can drift off into a sleep forever._

_The only thing that was on my mind though was my baby. My baby girl. Gracie. She was my miracle. Sam and I had tried to get pregnant for so long, I had been once before but I lost it, so when I got pregnant with Gracie, it was like a blessing. We bought the healthiest things, trying to make our girl so safe. We wanted her to grow up in a home full of love and laughter. A home with two parents. I didn't want her to grow up in this world._

_If I'm selfish for leaving my daughter alone in this world than be it. I was torn. I had this beautiful baby girl, but my heart was broken so bad that it could never be repaired. So, the hardest question I had to face was this: do I carry my baby with me when I walk into the throngs of these things? Do I let her die in my arms? And I couldn't. But I also couldn't continue to live in this world. So I made a decision, the hardest one of my life._

_So this is what I must leave you with. I want you to have my daughter. That sounds so weird, but there is nobody more perfect to raise her than you. You're already so fully invested in her life, and she knows you. She loves you. This is the worst thing I could ever ask you to do. But I am. I'm asking you for this. To take my daughter as your own and to love her with as much love as you have to give. You may hate me for this. I don't blame you. I don't blame you if this causes you to regret ever being my sister, to hate the memories you have of me. But I need you to do this. I need you to be her mother._

_So with all of this said. I want you to know how much I love you. How much I have always loved you. I hope that I'll see you again one day. I pray that it isn't soon. I say 80 years sounds good. But I love you, Bella. So much. You have been and will always be, my sister._

_Love, Leah._

"Oh, God," I choked out. I couldn't hold the sobs in anymore. They broke through, tears spilling down my cheeks and onto my shirt. Gut wrenching cries that ripped from the deepest part of me. I leaned over and grabbed my niece, pulling her up onto my lap.

I hugged her tightly to my chest.

I rocked back and forth with Gracie in my arms as I cried. She didn't cry, she didn't do anything. Just sat in my arms and stared up into my face.

My sister had always been there for me. And I had always been there for her. We had an unbreakable bond that nothing could come between. Not boys, not distance, and not even death. She had been my rock since day one, and now it was my turn to be the rock for her daughter.

"It's just us now, Gracie girl."

I was going to raise this precious girl, and protect her from all the evils in the world.

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><p><strong>How did you all like it? I know nothing really happened, maybe some of you thought it was a little boring, but I wanted to make this chapter to show how Leah was feeling, how it affected her. Hope you all liked it!<strong>

**Please review!**


	6. Chapter 6

**Hi everybody! Sorry that it's been a while, real life got to me :/ but we're all good now because I'm getting this chapter to ya! Let me know what you think!**

**Disclaimer: Stephanie Meyer owns all of this. No infringement intended.**

**Inspired by The Walking Dead.**

* * *

><p>"Hi," the small voice says from my side. I turn my head and come face to face a boy no older than six years old.<p>

"Hi," I respond, pushing myself up in the bed and stretching my arms over my head.

"I'm Alex." He had shaggy reddish hair and bright green eyes. A little button nose and two dimples. This kid was adorable.

"Nice to meet you Alex, I'm Bella." I smiled at him before stepping down onto the ground and standing straight up. I reached my arms out for the kid, to which he jumped straight into them.

I set him on my hip before looking at his face. "What are you doing in here?"

He shrugged, "I got bored."

"Hmm," I moaned, sitting back down on the bed and placing him in my lap. "Can I do anything to help with that?"

"We can talk I guess." He placed his head in his hands and stared up at me with his bright eyes. I couldn't help but smile at this kid.

"Alright. Where did you come from anyways?" I asked. I hadn't remembered meeting this little boy, and I think that I would have remembered him if I had. He was too cute not to remember.

"I was in the living room," he said, nodding his head towards the bedroom door.

"How long have you been here?"

He sighed, "I don't know. I think last night, but it feels like it's been forever."

"Who did you come here with?" He played with the necklace that was around my neck. It was one that my dad had given to me when I graduated high school, a simple pendent on the chain, but I loved it.

"Well," he dragged the word out as he thought about it, "there was my dad, and my aunt, and my uncle, and my grandparents."

"Where are they now?" I asked, watching him play with the necklace. Something so simple seemed to make him happy. Maybe it was taking his mind off of everything. I wonder if he even know what was happening.

"I don't know. They made me stay inside while they went out to do something. But I got bored, so I came in here."

I nodded my head and bounced him on my lap.

"Is there anything in particular that you wanted to talk about?"

He shrugged, "I don't really know. You're really pretty though."

I laughed, "Well, thank you bud."

"You remind me of my mommy." He said it with so much simplicity. Yet the words held so much more than that. His mom? Where was his mom?

"Where's she at?" I asked in a whisper. I didn't want to bring up something that could potentially be very bad.

"She's up in heaven. That's what daddy tells me at least."

I bit my lip. I wasn't sure what to say to this kid.

"That's where my sister is." My words were quiet, I wasn't sure that he had even heard them, until he turned his face to look up into my eyes. Then he wrapped his arms around my neck as my eyes filled with tears. He hugged me tightly as some of them spilled out of my eyes and ran down my cheeks.

"I'm sorry, Miss Bella."

"I'm sorry about your mom, too," I told him, giving him a little extra squeeze.

He pulled away from my and set his little hands on my cheeks. He helped wipe away my tears all the while smiling at me. This kid was something special.

"Alex?" A panicked voice yelled from outside of the room. "Alex! Where are you? Alex?"

There were rushed footsteps, and more shouts before Alex hopped off my lap and ran to the door.

"Dad!" He screamed as he pulled the door open. I looked out the doorway as his father spun around and ran towards his son. Dropping to his knees and pulling him in for a hug.

"I told you to stay in the living room." His father muttered as he pulled away from him. Alex shrugged.

"I got bored."

The dad sighed, "Alex, please, buddy. I just need you to listen when I tell you to do something, okay?"

"Okay." Alex's voice had grown more quiet and it made me upset.

"I'm sorry. If I would have known I would have taken him back out there," I said as I stood up from the bed. His dad's eyes flashed up to my own, as he stood up from the ground.

"It's fine," He snapped. He held his hand out for Alex, who placed his little one in his fathers, before they walked back into the living room.

I sighed, knowing that I had made him angry.

I followed them out to the living room, to see everybody, plus a few new people, sitting around talking. When my dad saw me, he rose from his chair and wrapped his arms around me in a tight hug. His eyes were red rimmed, and I knew that mine had to look similar. He held me tight and kissed the top of my head before letting go.

"You doing alright?" he asked, pushing a piece of my hair behind my ear.

I shrugged, "As alright as I can, I guess."

He nodded in understanding but didn't say anything further. Looking around the room, I noticed that Gracie was on Jessica's lap. She was clapping her hands and smiling, without a care in the world.

I sat down next to my dad on the couch and pulled my feet up under me.

"Hi," A girl said from next to me. She was one of the new people that I didn't recognize. She had long blonde hair that had been pulled back into a high ponytail. She had ice blue eyes and the most natural red lips.

"Hi," I responded. Looking her over from head to toe. She had on a pair of jeans that had holes in the knees, and a pair of work boots on. She had a flannel shirt that had the sleeves rolled up. She looked tough.

"I'm Rosalie. You can call me Rose though." She smiled and I couldn't help but smile back.

"Bella."

"Nice to meet you."

I made a face, thinking about our situation. "Yeah, you too." She laughed, totally understanding why I made the face. "Hey, can I ask you a question?"

"Yeah, of course."

"What exactly happened last night? You know, after my, uh, sister, and everything?"

She looked down, obviously feeling uncomfortable with the mention of my dead sister. "Well, we had heard your gunshots, so we raced over there as fast as we could. We knew that the sound would just draw more walkers here. When we pulled up we knew that we needed to block the entrance of the gate. So, Edward, Emmett and I hopped out to start helping kill those things. And Esme and Carlisle managed to maneuver our two cars to block off most of the opening."

"Has anything else happened since?"

"Well, we took care of the ones that were still inside the yard. And then we moved another car over to block a small gap that wasn't already covered. And we managed to kill the ones that were on the other side of the cars. We burned the bodies, which we thought would attract more of them, but none have shown up." She paused and looked around the room, "We've just been trying to make everything more secure around here."

I nodded, taking everything she had said in. There was a lot to process. And I guess we had added more people to our group. Which was a good thing. They had already helped us a lot. Without them, who knows what would have happened last night.

"Who are the people you mentioned?" I asked, spotting two other newcomers in the living room, but not sure which was which.

She jerked her thumb at the guy next to her, "This is Emmett, my husband." He said hello and I responded before he turned back to resume his chat with my father. "Over there is Carlisle. He's Emmett's dad. You met Alex, and then his dad Edward. Edward is Carlisle's other son. And their mom Esme is laying down somewhere." Carlisle waved at me from across the room and I smiled back at him.

"So, you're all related?" I asked, before she nodded.

"Yeah, plus we were all together when everything went down, so it just made it a lot easier."

We sat and continued to talk for a long time. The other people around the room were talking about strategies. About how to survive here in this house. I tried to block them out, talking about surviving just didn't sit right with me, right now at least.

"So, what did you all do before this all happened?" I asked Rose.

"Well, I was a mechanic. Emmett was a history teacher and baseball coach. Esme worked with a lot of different charities. Carlisle was a doctor. And then Edward had just gotten back from being overseas."

"Army?"

She nodded.

"Carlisle's a doctor, huh? Well, that will come in handy. I should probably talk to him about that."

"Why?" she asked, looking over at her father-in-law before flashing her eyes back at me.

"Oh, I was a nurse."

She laughed before shaking her head. "He'll love that."

Jessica handed me Gracie as she headed to go take a nap. I bounced the baby girl on my lap and talked to her in baby voice. She kept giggling and mumbling things to me. She was usually a pretty quiet toddler, but today she was full of words.

"Auntie Bewwa!" She yelled out, clapping her hands together. She smiled a bright smile at me and I leaned down to kiss her on the cheek.

"Can I play with her?" A little voice asked from my side. I looked over to see Alex standing there.

I nodded, "Of course." I scooted down so I was sitting on the floor and set Gracie next to him. I laughed as he kept trying to play games with there that were way over her head.

Rose stood up a couple moments later, and somebody else sat down in her spot.

He leaned down to whisper in my ear, "I'm sorry about earlier. It just freaked me out when I didn't see him. I shouldn't have been rude to you. But I'm sorry."

"It's fine."

He leaned back and didn't say another word.

This guy was going to have to open up somehow.


End file.
